Friendship by Sanjeev Sethi

Friendship

 

Whenever I call her, she is on the cusp

of an interlude.When we are together

honesty is her other name.

 

The world riddled with rift must reign

in the sequences of her smile.

Grief is her gatekeeper.

 

When the phone rings, her callers

have promises to proffer.

Full of fire, she is destiny's flaw.

 

Some symphonies will never be hers.

Still my friend's lilt has the potential

to light the lame. Often she disowns this gift.

 

Her universe seems untidy,

but it is unsoiled. Her haphazardness

is on display while mine is disguised.

 

It is things that we disagree upon

are the things that draw me to her.

Fortitude is this friend's flag.

Sanjeev Sethi is the author of three well-received books of poetry. His most recent collection is This Summer and That Summer (Bloomsbury, 2015). His poems are in venues around the world: Mad Swirl, Olentangy Review, Indefinite Space, New Mystics, Yellow Mama, Serving House Journal, Right Hand Pointing, London Grip, With Painted Words, Sentinel Literary Quarterly, Spillwords, Meniscus and elsewhere. He lives in Mumbai, India.